This is part one of a four part series honoring our military men and women.
Mary and Louis Merritt found love in an unexpected place—the U.S. Army.
Both Merritts are retired veterans. Mrs. Merritt was born in Chicago, but moved to Winona when she was nine-years-old. She lived in Winona with her grandmother until she went to Jackson State University after graduating from high school.
In college, Mrs. Merritt joined the U.S. Army Reserves. She eventually went active duty and was stationed at a base in Indiana, where she met Mr. Merritt 30 years ago. Mr. Merritt was born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana. He joined the military two years after graduating from high school.
The couple has lived together in Winona for the past 12 years. Despite having moved all around the United States, Mrs. Merritt remembered that Winona felt the most like home. The couple agreed that when they were both retired, they would move to some place small, friendly and affordable. Winona perfectly fit the bill.
Upon their retirement, Mr. Merritt ranked as a Master Sergeant and Mrs. Merritt was Sergeant First Class.
Their futures together began when the two were assigned to the same unit in Indiana. In 1989, they were both deployed for the first time. By then, they were already dating. They remained in Saudi Arabia for 7 1/2 months. They married in 1991.
When they married, Mr. Merritt was enlisted in the Reserves and Mrs. Merritt was active duty. The couple followed each other from state to state as needed. Although they have had to be apart a few times in their marriage, the separations have never lasted more than a few months.
Often times, military families are forced to move around several times in a short period of time. But, by entering active duty from the Reserves, the Merritts and their young daughter were able to remain somewhat stationary, said Mr. Merritt. As Reserve active duty officers, they were guaranteed placement in an area for a minimum of three years.
Mr. Merritt said the couple was even able to live in one location for seven years before moving again. Even when the family did actually have to move, it wasn’t so bad because they had each other, said Mr. Merritt. Besides, the moves offered a chance to experience new places, he said.
In 2004, Mr. Merritt was deployed to Iraq. This time he didn’t have his wife by his side. His unit was on a deployment assignment scheduled to last one full year. After two months in Iraq, Mr. Merritt was injured and had to be flown back to the United States. The mission earned him a purple heart.
Merritt said he took time to recover and then reentered active duty. He decided to go to recruiting school and try his hand at recruiting. As a recruiter, he had to move to Alabama. The couple had lived in the state once before after Mrs. Merritt had been stationed there.
This time, Merritt followed her husband. Before the couple moved, they had been in Missouri.
In 2007, Mrs. Merritt retired. Mr. Merritt continued for eight more years before retiring in 2015. Since their daughter had gone off to college, Mrs. Merritt had been able to follow Mr. Merritt to Las Vegas, where he was last stationed.
The couple has one daughter and two granddaughters. Since their daughter lives in Winona, they see their grandchildren just about every day, Mr. Merritt said.
These days, the couple spends their time enjoying retirement. Mr. Merritt says he sometimes works on his house or at his church, but otherwise spends his days “knowing God and enjoying everything he has blessed us with.”
The Merritts will spend their Independence Day fellowshipping with friends and family and possibly taking their granddaughters to enjoy a fireworks show.
